Among the 27 former Ballon d’Or winners called upon to vote for the 2026 Kopa Trophy, only Lionel Messi placed the name of Ibrahim Maza, the Algerian midfielder at Bayer Leverkusen, in his top three.
The breakdown of the 2026 Kopa Trophy votes has been published by France Football. Of the 27 former Ballon d’Or winners voting, only one slipped in the name of Ibrahim Maza: Lionel Messi, the Argentine forward and former Ballon d’Or winner, reports FQS.
The 20-year-old Bayer Leverkusen midfielder therefore collected just one vote, Messi’s. The winner’s vote, meanwhile, is known through another channel: according to Buaksib, Harry Kane won the Ballon d’Or with 1,055 points, ahead of Kylian Mbappé (1,027) and Lamine Yamal (881), following the ballot of 100 specialist journalists.
Messi’s ballot in detail
The order of Messi’s ballot is grist to the mill: Lamine Yamal in first place, Pau Cubarsi next, Ibrahim Maza last. Two players trained at La Masia, and a third who was not, FQS points out. The Inter Miami forward therefore did not snub the Algerian international, though he did not put him at the top either.
No intention is attributed to Messi by the sources: the ballot is published, not commented on. Aged 20, Maza is valued at 50 million euros by Transfermarkt.
Four World Cup matches
Before that ballot, there was the 2026 World Cup. Maza played 4 matches for Algeria there, for 352 minutes of play, according to FQS.
The most notable match of that run remains the 0-3 defeat to Argentina. That day, Maza started for 82 minutes against Messi, who scored a hat-trick.
Algeria chose Yamal for the Ballon d’Or
According to Buaksib, Algeria was among the countries that placed Lamine Yamal first for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, alongside Tunisia and Jordan.
The Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best young player of the year, is voted on by former Ballon d’Or winners; the Ballon d’Or itself is voted on by journalists. In the first ballot, Messi’s lone vote went to Maza; in the second, Algeria was among the votes for Yamal.
Maza will now return to Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, before playing for Algeria against Togo on 14 and 17 November.